Israel’s RT develops high-altitude surveillance blimp

Israeli aerostat manufacturer RT LTA Systems announced on 26 July that it was launching a new family of platforms under the name ‘SkyGuard’ that are designed to carry far heavier payloads for longer periods than its existing SkyStar family.

RT said its new Aero-T subsidiary will develop and produce the SkyGuard family and has already completed development of the SkyGuard 1.

The SkyGuard 1 takes the form of an egg-shaped ‘blimp’ rather than the spherical shape of the SkyStar. It can carry payloads weighing up to 90 kg and reach altitudes of up to 1,000 m for long-endurance missions, according to RT.